The ceremony is due to start at 11.15 but the mayor has mislaid the official speech sent by the prefecture . His wife fusses and hauls it out of the inside pocket of his blazer . He shrugs his shoulders, smiles sheepishly and sighs. She straightens his tie . We start at 11.20.Three village toddlers , holding hands , lay a wreath . Underwhelmed , the littlest one sits on the memorials bottom step , finger in mouth, chuckling happily . A harried mother picks her up and tucks her , uncomplaining , under an arm . The mayor reads his speech .
The little lady in the purple hat sings the Marseillaise with a tenderness that makes it more a ballad to a lost love than a martial air . The deputy mayoress dabs her eyes. Our third Armistice Day ceremony in the little village . As we walk home I turn to ' the font ' and say " I'm glad we moved here ".
Wilf seems to agree . On our evening walk he turns on his back and falls sound asleep in the middle of the road . He's soon snoring . I phone ' the font ' to bring out the car and collect us .
I only hope I could ever be so happy!
ReplyDeleteWe are glad too. How else could we have met such a magnificent cast of characters?
ReplyDeleteLovely story, and lovely pictures of Wilf at his most adorable !!
ReplyDeleteHappy days - lovely Wilf-pictures - your village and its inhabitants sound really very nice and you are fully accepted and integrated - Wilf sure made such a good impression first on the womens comitee, the absinthe crowd... Love from Southern Italy Susanne, dAisy and Foxiie
ReplyDeleteWe're glad you moved there too. So much fodder for Blogville.
ReplyDeleteXXXoOO Daisy, Kendra & Bella
Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz was right, there really is no place like home and no other place like your home, Angus!
ReplyDeleteOh Wilf. The vision of you snoring in the road makes me smile.
ReplyDeleteIf Wilf is happy, we are happy!
ReplyDeleteBlessings and Love,
Janelle and Maggie Mae
i knew as soon as i saw the pictures that he was asleep again! i laughed with pure pleasure at this adorable wee bear. how can one little dog capture your heart so?
ReplyDeletei'm glad you moved there too. my day is just not complete til i've checked in on m'ongoose, wilfee and the font, in their beautiful french village. thank you for sharing your life with us.
love,
tammy j
So sweet.
ReplyDeleteWonderful writing always a pleasure to visit you and Wilf.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful day! Am I seeing 3 different war memorials in your posts. Gosh, I would love to know more about them...
ReplyDeleteGlad to be where you are... How lovely for you. I couldn't actually tell from your writings if you were glad for the move or glad to be where you moved. Looks like the perfect place for Wilf! Your photos of him sleeping on his back never fail to delight. Love to all.
ReplyDeleteBonne nuit Wilfee, i wish you a peaceful night.
ReplyDeleteGood night Angus and the Font.
Thanks for sharing the lovely photos of Wilfee snoring on the road.
What a beautiful portrait of rural life! You make me glad you moved there, too. Your words would make anyplace seem idyllic, though, because I think you see the beauty in the simple aspects of everyday life.
ReplyDeleteBertie stole the words from us!!
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's easy to bloom where you're planted. Looks like France is second time lucky.
ReplyDeleteSo good to see Wilf is enjoying his perambulations - and enjoying his rest stops.
Jed & Abby
No rendition from Mme Bay?
ReplyDelete